1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to artificial stone and, more particularly, to artificial stone chips having a good compatibility with a resin matrix.
2. Description of the Related Art
Artificial stone has become widely used as a material for various articles such as counters, tables, etc. In particular, artificial stone including an acrylic resin matrix has been popular due to the excellent appearance, high-class texture and good durability thereof.
An artificial stone having an acrylic resin matrix may be produced by, e.g., combining methyl methacrylate monomer and polymethylmethacrylate with an inorganic filler, artificial stone chips, which may provide the artificial stone with various patterns and colors, and a polymerization initiator to form a slurry. The slurry may then be cast at a suitable temperature to form an article of artificial stone.
During the preparation of the artificial stone, various artificial stone chips may be added to express various patterns and colors. Notably, the appearance of artificial stone, which may be significantly enhanced by the artificial stone chips, may greatly affect the value of the product.
The artificial stone chips may be obtained by pulverizing an article of artificial stone to form chips of various sizes. As the material for the artificial stone chips, an acrylic resin, the same material as a matrix of the artificial stone, may be used.
Recently, transparent artificial stone chips have been used to provide an otherwise-dull artificial stone with a lucid and elegant impression, e.g., a jewel-like appearance. Accordingly, there is a demand for transparent artificial stone chips.
Transparent artificial stone chips have been prepared from polymethylmethacrylate resin or unsaturated polyester resin. Such transparent artificial stone chips may have a specific gravity of 1.15˜1.24, which may be lower than that of the resin matrix used for the artificial stone. As a result, the transparent artificial stone chips may float to the upper surface of the resin matrix before or during the curing process. This may result in little or no transparent artificial stone chips at an opposite (lower) surface of the artificial stone, and the artificial stone may not exhibit uniform dispersion of the transparent artificial stone chips. In order to compensate for this effect and distribute the transparent artificial stone chips through to the opposite surface of the artificial stone, more than twice the amount of transparent artificial stone chips may need to be added, which may make it difficult to control the thickness of the artificial stone.